|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Full Text
In the information disorder ecosystem, a common method deployed by the purveyors of fake narratives is using political leaders to make distorted claims.
Using influential figures, these purveyors exploit their audience’s unsuspecting confirmation bias, causing them to accept what these prominent personalities have to say without questioning.
In 2024, DUBAWA observed that Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States of America, was recurringly being used as an object of such tactics, especially in propagating political disinformation.
In this article, we highlighted some of the some of these instances.
- Trump banned Nigerians from moving to the U.S.
Following the just-concluded presidential polls in the U.S., a video circulated asserted that Mr Trump had announced new visa restrictions targeting Nigerian professionals seeking to enter the foreign country.
Our research showed that the footage of the US president-elect purportedly declaring visa restrictions on Nigerians had been digitally altered. Besides, Mr Trump cannot make any policy until he is sworn in as executive president on Jan. 20, 2025.
Read the full article here.
- Trump banned gay marriage in all 50 states in America
Another claim we came across in the aftermath of the U.S. elections and also linked to President-elect Trump is that he declared a ban on the practice of same-sex marriage in the country.
Studies conducted before the polls showed that a significant number of Americans supported the practice, especially after the country’s groundbreaking ruling in 2015 that gay marriage is legal nationwide.
When we dug into the claim, we found it was false. Mr Trump, who had won the election, cannot make policies or bans until he is sworn in on January 20, 2025. He has no power to create new laws or abolish old ones. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges opinion, which legalised gay marriage in America, is still in force. Learn more here.
- Trump praised Peter Obi, lambasted Tinubu
Another claim widely circulated online in August 2024 was that Mr Trump lauded Peter Obi, ex-presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 Nigeria general elections.
The claim added that Mr Trump also condemned Bola Tinubu, the incumbent president of Nigeria, who has been facing backlash from Nigerians over his economic policies.
Our investigation, however, revealed that the video of the purported claim was fabricated. The original footage was part of Mr Trump’s daily interview series to mark the first 100 days in office in April 2017.
Read the full report here.
- Did Nigerians hold a parade for Trump in Lagos?
Before Americans went to the polls in the highly anticipated November presidential election, which produced former Republican President Donald Trump, we found a video on X claiming that Nigerians held a parade in Lagos State to garner support for him.
Research showed that the video was not new but an older pro-Trump event in Nigeria. The footage dates back to 2020, during the U.S. presidential election when supporters in Nigeria organised a parade to show their backing for Mr Trump.
Read more here.
- Trump ordered the FG to release Nnamdi Kanu
Another recurring claim about Mr Trump is that he ordered the Nigerian Government to release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
However, upon deep scrutiny, DUBAWA observed unnatural lip movements and inaudible parts in the video, suggesting the video had been digitally altered.
Read more about our findings here.
- Trump made racist comments about Africa
As the U.S. geared towards its presidential elections in November 2024, a claim went viral online asserting that Mr Trump, a then-major contender, made racist remarks against people of African descent and Arabs.
This claim aimed to influence the votes of these country’s communities.
Our investigation showed that the speech attributed to Mr Trump has been circulating the internet for a long time. We also found that some parts of the speech were cut from other write-ups claimed to have come from former South African president P. W. Botha in 1985.
Read more here.
- Trump attacked President Tinubu for his economic policies
With the policy reforms by President Tinubu in the face of the prevailing socio-economic challenges facing Nigeria, a claim online alleged Mr Trump lambasted the Tinubu-led administration for making such decisions.
Upon verification, we discovered some features that raised doubts about the authenticity of the footage because it had ‘Made with TryParrotAI.com’ at the bottom right corner.
The app’s description, “Parrot AI is the top celebrity voice generator,” suggests that the video was generated with the Parrot Artificial Intelligence (AI) App.
Read more about our findings here.
